Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer made what could end being his last appearance with Cleveland on Sunday, and it certainly didn’t end the way he anticipated.
After allowing a go-ahead, two-run single to the Kansas City Royals in the fifth inning, Bauer watched as Indians manager Terry Francona emerged from the dugout to remove him from the game. But before Francona could even reach the mound, he turned and chucked the baseball all the way over the center-field wall.
Impressive throw aside — Francona was furious. After the game, Bauer was predictably expected to answer questions about the incident. Before taking a question, though, the Indians starter issued a long apology for his meltdown.
Bauer said to open his apology:
“I want to say a couple things, first and foremost, I owe a sincere apology to all my teammates, my coaching staff, the organization and all the fans for how I conducted myself today. It was unbecoming. It was childish, unprofessional. There’s no place for it in the game. Happy that it didn’t result in any physical injury for anybody else. I realize that I put people in danger.
“I want to be clear that my frustrations were with myself and my inability to stop the situation and keep the team in the game. It was not directed at any of my teammates even mind though it came off that way.”
The Royals ended up winning the game, 9-6. And with Bauer’s name floating around in trade deadline rumors, it’ll be interesting to see how that latest incident affects his trade value.
